ASSIGNMENT 03
Assignment 03: 15 June 2020
UNIQUE NUMBER: 781305
This assignment is optional and will not contribute towards your year mark. It will be good
preparation for your examination paper and will be marked.
QUESTION 1
The way we interpret the world around us is determined partly by our beliefs, values and norms, but
mostly by contextual influences. The educator’s interpretation and implementation of a curriculum is
also influenced by the context. Choices regarding planning and designing a learning programme, the
inclusion of particular instructional strategies and the practical application is embedded in knowledge
and the understanding of the educational situation. Influences ranging from the political, social and
economic culture to the norms and knowledge structures of educators affect teaching and learning.
Taking the above into consideration, critically discuss the following:
1.1 A socio-constructivist’s (Vygotsky) view of the impact of context on curriculum
implementation. (7)
Do you agree with his view? (1)
Motivate your answer. (2)
, MEMORANDUM:
1.1 Lev Vygotsky, an educationist who argued for a socio-constructionist perspective in education,
was a young man during the Russian Revolution (1917–1918), a time of great change in his culture
and society. He believed that the lifelong process of development is dependent on social interaction,
and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978). Traditionally,
schools have not promoted environments in which learners play an active role in their own education
as well as that of their peers. Vygotsky’s theory, however, requires teachers and learners to play non-
traditional roles as they collaborate with each other, because both are influenced by the contexts in
which they live, teach, and learn. Instead of teachers dictating meaning to learners for future
recitation, they should collaborate with learners in order to create meaning in ways that learners can
make their own (Hausfather, 1996). Learning becomes a reciprocal experience for both learners and
teachers. This means that a teacher cannot ignore context when planning and during the process of
developing learning programmes.
According to Vygotsky’s theory, the physical classroom should provide clustered desks or tables and
workspaces for peer learning, collaboration, and small-group learning. Like the environment, the
learning material should be structured to promote and encourage learner interaction and
collaboration. Thus, the classroom becomes a community of learning.
Because Vygotsky asserts that cognitive change occurs within the zone of proximal development,
instruction should be designed to reach a developmental level that is just above the learner’s current
developmental level. Vygotsky (1978) argues that the overall development of the child and a new
stage of the development process should be kept in mind when learning is planned.
Appropriation is necessary for cognitive development within the zone of proximal development.
Individuals participating in peer collaboration or guided teaching must share the same focus in order
to access the zone of proximal development. “Furthermore, it is essential that the “partners” in this
educational environment be on different developmental levels, and that the higher-level partner be
aware of the lower partner’s level. If this does not occur, or if one partner dominates, the interaction is
less successful. This is why joint attention and a common understanding of the problem-solving
process are needed to create a cognitive, social, and emotional interchange between the “partners” in
the educational environment (Driscoll, 1994; Hausfather, 1996). This requires the teacher to have a
good understanding of contextual influences in terms of planning, instructional design, and
assessment in the teaching-learning environment. (7)
OWN RESPONSE
Yes or no. (1) Possible own motivation: Mental processes can be shaped and transformed by social
settings and language abilities. Culture and context in which learner finds himself can provide all the
tools of intellectual adaptation needed for both what and how to think. (2)
Assignment 03: 15 June 2020
UNIQUE NUMBER: 781305
This assignment is optional and will not contribute towards your year mark. It will be good
preparation for your examination paper and will be marked.
QUESTION 1
The way we interpret the world around us is determined partly by our beliefs, values and norms, but
mostly by contextual influences. The educator’s interpretation and implementation of a curriculum is
also influenced by the context. Choices regarding planning and designing a learning programme, the
inclusion of particular instructional strategies and the practical application is embedded in knowledge
and the understanding of the educational situation. Influences ranging from the political, social and
economic culture to the norms and knowledge structures of educators affect teaching and learning.
Taking the above into consideration, critically discuss the following:
1.1 A socio-constructivist’s (Vygotsky) view of the impact of context on curriculum
implementation. (7)
Do you agree with his view? (1)
Motivate your answer. (2)
, MEMORANDUM:
1.1 Lev Vygotsky, an educationist who argued for a socio-constructionist perspective in education,
was a young man during the Russian Revolution (1917–1918), a time of great change in his culture
and society. He believed that the lifelong process of development is dependent on social interaction,
and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978). Traditionally,
schools have not promoted environments in which learners play an active role in their own education
as well as that of their peers. Vygotsky’s theory, however, requires teachers and learners to play non-
traditional roles as they collaborate with each other, because both are influenced by the contexts in
which they live, teach, and learn. Instead of teachers dictating meaning to learners for future
recitation, they should collaborate with learners in order to create meaning in ways that learners can
make their own (Hausfather, 1996). Learning becomes a reciprocal experience for both learners and
teachers. This means that a teacher cannot ignore context when planning and during the process of
developing learning programmes.
According to Vygotsky’s theory, the physical classroom should provide clustered desks or tables and
workspaces for peer learning, collaboration, and small-group learning. Like the environment, the
learning material should be structured to promote and encourage learner interaction and
collaboration. Thus, the classroom becomes a community of learning.
Because Vygotsky asserts that cognitive change occurs within the zone of proximal development,
instruction should be designed to reach a developmental level that is just above the learner’s current
developmental level. Vygotsky (1978) argues that the overall development of the child and a new
stage of the development process should be kept in mind when learning is planned.
Appropriation is necessary for cognitive development within the zone of proximal development.
Individuals participating in peer collaboration or guided teaching must share the same focus in order
to access the zone of proximal development. “Furthermore, it is essential that the “partners” in this
educational environment be on different developmental levels, and that the higher-level partner be
aware of the lower partner’s level. If this does not occur, or if one partner dominates, the interaction is
less successful. This is why joint attention and a common understanding of the problem-solving
process are needed to create a cognitive, social, and emotional interchange between the “partners” in
the educational environment (Driscoll, 1994; Hausfather, 1996). This requires the teacher to have a
good understanding of contextual influences in terms of planning, instructional design, and
assessment in the teaching-learning environment. (7)
OWN RESPONSE
Yes or no. (1) Possible own motivation: Mental processes can be shaped and transformed by social
settings and language abilities. Culture and context in which learner finds himself can provide all the
tools of intellectual adaptation needed for both what and how to think. (2)
